Quakes Sign Wondo – USA Should Too

San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski, the man with the golden touch in front of goal, has signed a new deal with his club, giving him designated player status and lots more green. He’s earned it. Twenty-seven goals last season and a bunch more previously.

Wondo, at thirty, is proof that late bloomers can catch the wind. He drifts into space then delivers the blow. Astronomers miss meteors like defenders miss Wondo. Wisp the element of mystery. Other strikers use sheer force and speed to trample the defense. Wondo arches stealth.

It makes one think that Wondo should start for the US national team next month in the World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica and Mexico. And he should be given orders to quietly roam, throw his shadow down.

Let’s face it – every team the US comes up against has figured out the US tactics beforehand. Not to say that those tactics can’t prevail but a pinch of faith in the mysteries of the stealth striker could pay off. Stealth needs wings to operate. Firing on two wingers may be old fashioned, and soccer by the seat of your pants, but the idea that the US team is technically gifted enough to knit passing patterns that stitch victory to the colors is a little naieve. Leave the quilt making to the Amish. And why should American soccer follow the prevailing tactical winds?

A dog can bite unexpectedly. That’s what gave the US good results in the past. So, give Wondo the chance to do some damage. Don’t pull him off midway through the hunt. Don’t slag him off for not being effective in the passing routine. Don’t drop him if it doesn’t pay off right away. Let him sniff the territory, lay his trail, and snap the goal.

By way of nostalgia, Scotland traveled to the World Cup in Argentina in 1978 with the nation’s top scorer on the roster. He kept the bench warm during the tournament and Scotland’s dream evaporated, somewhat ingloriously, but that’s another story. The lesson was simple – the top scorer in the domestic league should have played in the national team. The USA has hardly been banging them in of late, so what is there to lose? Let the late bloomer arrive.

Black’s soccer column is in the print edition of the Chronicle, every Friday.